The day the world changed: 9/11

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'This was the equivalent of planes flying into the Sydney Harbour Bridge or the Opera House.'

Where were you when the first images of the planes hitting the World Trade Centre were broadcast? This is former Prime Minister John Howard's remarkable account of being in Washington DC on the morning of 11 September 2001. Two planes had already hit the World Trade Centre when a third plane slammed into the western side of the Pentagon. Howard was in the middle of giving a press conference. He said 'I pulled the curtains aside and you could see the smoke rising.' Howard informed the Australian Parliament on 17 September that the attack on the US, under articles IV and V of the ANZUS Defence Treaty, constituted an attack on Australia. This was the first time the mutual defence clause of the ANZUS Treaty had been invoked since it was enacted in 1952. A raft of anti-terrorist legislation was passed in Australia the following year and in 2003, controversially, Australian troops, including a special-forces task group, warships and a number of F/A-18 Hornets, were committed to the initial invasion of Iraq, along with the combined forces of the US, Poland and the United Kingdom. Australia still has a military presence there today.

Narrated by Fran Kelly, this is an excerpt from a 4-part ABC series, The Howard Years; a behind-the-scenes look at the period John Howard was Prime Minister, made while it was all still very fresh in the mind. Additional accounts are given by George W. Bush, Max Moore-Wilton, John Anderson, Peter Costello, Alexander Downer, and Michael Thawley.

Footage of the twin towers included in this clip copyright APArchive/AWV